Good Day for Gays?

Texas has become the 18th state to amend its constitution to ban same-sex marriage. As our hard-working election night blogger Josh Goodman points out, the amendment's 3-to-1 passage certainly represents a huge win for social conservatives and others opposed to gay marriages.

That sentiment will find continued expression in 2006, when voters in at least four more states (maybe more like 10) will decide whether to ban gay marriage.

But, as I pointed out in Governing a couple months back, aside from the high-profile issue of marriage, gays and lesbians are racking up a lot of political victories. That was certainly the case in Maine, where voters upheld an anti-discrimination law after twice repealing it. (Perhaps predictably, opponents on the law are now setting their sights on a marriage ban.)

In Virginia, four state House candidates who openly appealed to anti-gay sentiments all lost. Several openly gay or lesbian candidates running for local office also won--including at least one in Texas. (Here's a rundown.)

"I think we still see Americans struggling with the issue of marriage equality for same-sex couples," Carrie Evans, state legislative director for Human Rights Campaign, said in an interview today. "But Americans are on board with basic things like job discrimination and housing protection. We know this from public opinion polls, and we know this from Maine."